S. Robert Anshen (1910-1964) & William Stephen Allen, Jr. (1912-1992)

Bob Anshen and Steve Allen met in 1935 while earning both their Bachelor and Master degrees in Architecture at the University of Pennsylvania. They came to San Francisco in 1937 and while working for other firms secured their first joint commission: a house for Ralph K. Davies. They formed the architectural firm, Anshen & Allen in 1939. During WWII, Allen served as a Lt. Commander in the Navy and Anshen as a Technical Director for the Housing Authority in Vallejo, CA. By 1946, both were back to practicing architecture fulltime. The firm was known for a variety of project types including residential, commercial, educational, religious, and later specializing in medical buildings.

The Anshen & Allen Collection spans the years 1917-2007 (bulk 1940-1994) and includes projects files documenting the first 50 years of the firm’s history and the activities of the two founding architects. The Collection is organized into four series: Personal Papers, Professional Papers, Office Records, and Project Records. Well-documented projects include the Chapel of the Holy Cross in Sedona, AZ (1956), the Dinosaur National Monument Visitor Center (1956), the Ernest Moore House in Carmel, CA (1956), the International Building in San Francisco (1961), and the University of California, Santa Cruz Natural Sciences Master Plan (1964).